True Blood and Comic-Con, A Happy Memory

Comic-Con International, held every year in San Diego, California is something I firmly believe everyone should experience at least once in their lives. There’s so much to do and see that four days just aren’t enough to get through it all! I’ve now gone two years in a row, and I’ve discovered things that later became hits on TV, like True Blood.

The True Blood cast went to Comic-Con for the first time two years ago to promote the show and unfortunately, that year I couldn’t make the panel. However, I did make it to last year’s True Blood cast signing AND panel through sheer luck.

First, I have to tell you about the cast signing. It was really hard to get into the signing line, but I managed to get my way into the area where the signing would be taking place over two hours in advance. During that time, a signing for the ABC show Eastwick was taking place, and it happened to be near where I was standing in wait. Thanks to that, I had an amazing 20+ minute conversation with the one and only Rebecca Romijn. We talked about her new show, she told me about being Mystique, and best of all, she told me about her experiences working with Anna Paquin. She spoke very highly of Anna and had high praise for her and mentioned how much she wanted to work with her again.

After that conversation, I waited a bit more before I was allowed to get into the signing line. I was one of the lucky few to make the line. I stood and waited my turn as patiently as I could with my heart leaping in anticipation of meeting Anna, Stephen, Rutina and everyone else. It took a bit, but eventually I was in front of the line and my turn for autographs and quick chatting was up.

I walked into the setup, where True Blood posters waited (they were the blood/black image that is also Sookie being bitten by Bill), and Alan Ball grabbed one and signed it before signing a sketchbook I brought with me. I told him how much I love True Blood and that I couldn’t wait for the rest of season two to air. He was very sweet, thanking me for being a fan. I then made a request that he consider having a True Blood event at Dark Delicacies (a gothic bookstore/horror shop located in Burbank, CA) at some point in the future, since the store is so perfect for that gothic/horror feel. Alan said he’d think about it.

Next in the signing line was Charlaine Harris who signed the poster for me and I congratulated her for getting her books made into a TV show and then I moved on.

Anna Paquin was next and I had a great time with her. (The signing took place on Comic-Con‘s big day, Saturday, and Anna’s birthday had been the day before.) Knowing that the previous day had been Anna’s birthday, I came prepared with a gift for her (a hand-made travel pillow and some of my father’s home-roasted coffee). Anna was pretty shocked that a fan remembered her birthday AND brought her a gift, so she thanked me profusely, shaking my hand and chatting directly with me for a bit. We discussed her blonde hair (I begged her to join the Brunette Brigade again) and I asked about the engagement (which was only a rumor at the time). I told her that I hoped at some point in the future it would no longer be just a rumor. I also asked about whether or not Anna had a Twitter account, and Anna told me no. Anna was also really sweet about discussing her previous work on the X-Men trilogy, and when I asked about her working with Hugh Jackman again, she told me that she’d LOVE to work with him again.

During this time, Stephen Moyer was taking an interest in pretty much everything Anna and I were discussing and was grinning at me and was very charming, which was so much fun. Stephen commented to me that he also would love to work with Hugh Jackman and at that point he shook my hand too. We ended our chat with me telling Stephen that Bill is my favorite character on the show. He responded by telling me how sweet I was in his Bill voice, which just made me melt (and made Rutina laugh).

The security guys were getting antsy, so I moved on to Rutina Wesley. We had a small discussion about Tara and her trust issues before Rutina made a comment about loving my hair (I’m a brunette, but my “bangs” are dyed purple), since purple is her favorite color. I responded by grinning and telling her that purple is my birthstone, to which she gave me a thumbs up.

Already having been told to move on by the security people, I hurried up with everyone else. Around the corner of the signing table was Michelle Forbes. I told her how much I enjoyed Maryann and that I thought she played evil really well. She smiled at me and thanked me for my compliments.

Next to Michelle was another favorite of mine, Nelsan Ellis. Sitting between Michelle and Alex, he looked a lot more physically diminutive than he really is. I was really excited to meet him and mentioned how much I love the way he plays Lafayette, and how cool and relaxed he was in person. Nelsan told me that it was really cool to see that True Blood has so many fans who got so excited to meet the cast and that the compliments were making everyone there feel really good. (Michelle and Alex both agreed.) I ended my chat with Nelsan by telling him to NEVER let Alan kill Lafayette off and also hinting that Lafayette would make a great vampire.

Alexander Skarsgard is much more attractive without his Eric wig on. However, his presence is so large (especially to someone as short as me), that I felt a little bit intimidated by his presence, but he was really nice. I complimented Alex on his performance as Eric and he thanked me for the comment.

I moved on to Sam Trammell, who looked fabulous and acted a little shy. I told him how much I loved the homey feel of Merlotte‘s and how much his presence as Sam Merlotte added to that. I also told him that I hoped Sam (Merlotte) got a bigger storyline in season three, since I knew season two was already wrapped. Sam smiled and told me he hoped so too.

The final person in the signing line was Deborah Ann Woll. She looked fresh and young and wore little, if any, makeup. Deborah was very quiet and I thanked her for supporting the Choroideremia Research Foundation. Deborah thanked me for thanking her and I told her that I really loved the life she brought to VampireJessica and how much I enjoyed the changes we saw in Jessica from the end of season one to season two.

Following that, I rushed back upstairs to the room where the True Blood panel would be held later that day (Ballroom 20, which will probably host another True Blood panel again at next year’s Comic-Con). I sat through part of the V panel (and was sorely disappointed when it wasn’t about Jason Stackhouse‘s V addiction, but was instead a remake of an old show), then enjoyed the Fringe panel before the True Blood panel started. It was excellent, and I was very happy to have given a standing ovation to the cast that was there to tell the full room about what would be coming up with True Blood. I can’t remember much about the panel anymore, but I recall someone coming up and asking about how sharp the fangs that the vampires on the show wear actually are. Anna‘s response to the comment about how those fangs are pretty sharp and Stephen‘s instant retort of ‘pleading the fifth’ to Anna‘s comment had the entire room in stitches! Of course, you can just watch the entire panel and hear this for yourself! TrueBloodNet did post links to each part of the panel, and those can be found broken up into parts one and two, parts three and four, and parts five and six.

Comic-Con’s True Blood signing and panel were amazing experiences for me, and I’m never going to forget how amazing that day was.